The Leopard Trail gets Flush Toilets

Fires bring change to the Leopard Trail

One year into the Leopard Trails life, and the first major upgrade to occur is flush toilets! Each overnight spot now has a flushing toilet – a great luxury in this remote wilderness. Next we may even put in hot showers…. (nah, unlikely. Sorry)

In January the fires destroyed the overnight camp for the end of day 2. The only sign to mark where the toilet used to be was melted glass from the window, and a water tank melted down to the level of the water that was in it. The original toilets were enviroloo’s – great dry composting toilets, and environmentally friendly. However in the heat of the Baviaans, and with twelve hikers every day in summer, the toilets had started to smell….

With Camp 2 having to be rebuilt, we worked with our partners at the Eastern Cape Parks And Tourism Agency to evaluate the environmental impacts of flush toilets and septic tanks. The verdict was that, if done right, there would be no impact at all. And with water at each camp site not a problem, it was an easy decision.